Anonymous Modernist 283

I've been very fortunate to have been loaned a Gastrovac. However, there seems to be very little information about it online, the manual gives little away and generally I'm feeling a little lost as to what to do with it. So far I have impregnated coconut water into a melon which was pretty cool and impregnanted chicken stock into a chicken breast which was also excellent. I'm keen to start frying some vegetables but again with no reference tables or charts it's a little disconcerting as to know where to start - I'm an amateur MC enthusiast and don't have a kitchen stocked up with product to test on... I would be humbly grateful for any pointers / suggestions. thanks, Adam

Don't forget the Thermomix isn't the only option for thermal blenders!! There's also the MyCook (which I have) from Spanish manufacturer Taurus which is quite similar to Thermomix and just new to the market is HotMix wfrom Italy which I just spotted at this week's Fine Food show here in Sydney, Australia. This machine looks really good and is aimed squarely at the professional market. It has more powerful engine and also higher cooking temps (130c and 190c depending which model you choose). It also has 1C incremental heat adjust which both Thermomix and MyCook fall down on with 10C increments. Finally, HotMix have a new model coming which has -30C to 190C range which should make for some very interesting experiments and dishes...

Having purchased one of these from chris via eBay I can wholeheartedly recommend them. Great value and variety of various powders. Thanks Chris! -Adam

Hi Everyone, First post from a very happy new owner of MC... An area of particular interest to me is juicing. My interest culminated in taking on Australian distribution of a new design juicer a couple of years ago called "Hurom" which is made in Korea. This machine is a wonderful design that for my money (and by the way, I have no commercial interest or association with this machine anymore) is better on most accounts than the MC referenced Champion. When I was the distributor for the Hurom (which is also marketed as the Omega VRT330 in the USA) I performed many head-to-head "juice offs" against the Champion and other brands and the Hurom always came out on top. I've listed a couple of quick benefits the Hurom has and also a couple of videos I put together which I think would be of interest to any MC owners. The first video is making raw nut milk (yes, that's refined sugar free guys!!) and also utilizing it for the MC recipe "Cauliflower Creme Anglais. Benefits: Very easy to clean (this is a big stumbling block for most juicer owners) Versatile - can juice soaked nuts, soft fruits, leafy greens, ginger, garlic, cooked products such as cauliflower (see video) Small footprint - most of us don't have an MC sized kitchen (I wish!!) so footprint is a consideration - the Champion has a footprint about 5x that of the Hurom Quick - the Hurom has a faster output than the Champion but still operated at a slow 80rpm which means minimal damage to the product you are extracting the juice from Video samples: Almond, vanilla and fig milk MC Caulflower Creme Anglaise Again, I must stress that I no longer sell these machines - but that doesn't stop me from appreciating their awesome design and capabilities. If you have any further questions I'm happy to answer them. Cheers, Adam Bondi Beach, Australia